


A Collection of Monsters

by Runic



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Intersex Loki, Jotun Loki, M/M, Other, Self-Hatred
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 09:32:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2062986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runic/pseuds/Runic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce knew that look. It was the look of realizing someone had seen the monster inside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Collection of Monsters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wnnbdarklord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wnnbdarklord/gifts).



> I was really excited to participate in this, especially more so when I was assigned the wonderful wnnb_darklord. I tried to write a threesome for you, but Bruce and Loki seemed rather content on their own. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Edit: Apologizes, I forgot to add that I also created a playlist for this story. If you'd like to listen to it, you can find it here: 8tracks.com/aonorunic/a-collection-of-monsters-a-gammafrost-fanmix

Bruce knew that look. He had never seen it, because it had always been on his own face, but the moment he saw it, he knew. Fear, terror in its purest form, widened the eyes and tense muscles made the whole face freeze up. The mouth hung open ever so slightly, the lips wanting, yet incapable, of quivering. There was no defense, nothing that could cover up what Bruce had already seen.

It was the look of realizing someone had seen the monster inside.

Loki probably would have kept staring, his red eyes huge as they stayed fixed on the Hulk, but his body convulsed and a moment later he was being sick on the concrete he was curled up on. He would have fallen face forward right into the mess had the Hulk, in a moment of compassion he could not think to process right then and there, wrapped an arm around Loki’s waist and hulled him up.

Loki may have currently been a rather interesting shade of blue, quite literally, but it was definitely Loki. He still smelt the same at any rate. The cold of his skin bit into the Hulk’s arm, and made him grunt in annoyance, but he was not about to start slamming his new precious package against the sidewalk.

No, definitely not that. The Hulk knew exactly what he was going to do.

/

Bruce was grateful for his new home, and for the friends that made it feel like a home. He loved being back in a lab where he could actually work toward some sort of progress. It was so much better than running for his life from every military organization that wanted to either use or destroy the Hulk. He was grateful.

But sometimes, it all got just a tad overwhelming. Tony understood immediately when Bruce had brought it up; he’d barely even had to complete his sentence before Tony was launching into a solution. Tony had bought safe houses, random homes in the suburbs, floors inside buildings that were being ‘refurnished,’ the odd warehouse or two on the docks, and renovated them all to have a calming atmosphere, getaways where Bruce could just relax and let go.

None of the Avengers bothered him when he went off to one of his safe houses. When he turned on the lights, Tony was informed where he was, but beyond that, he had complete privacy. They all knew that Bruce only used the houses when he felt he really needed to, and they stayed back to give him the space he needed. It was another thing Bruce was grateful for, and he always greeted their warm smiles when he returned with a small one of his own. (He would never tell Tony, but the giant bear hugs he demeaned necessary were actually Bruce’s favorite.)

It was one of these safe houses Bruce took Loki to immediately after the smoke had cleared. This particular one was in a section of the city that was still being rebuilt after Loki’s invasion. While the buildings around it were being completed, this particular one only had the twenty floor redesigned to livable conditions. Bruce suspected that once all the other buildings were done, this safe house would be moved, but that was okay. It could be put to better use that way.

The Hulk stuck around long enough to place Loki on the bed before letting Bruce retake control. Loki’s skin felt a lot colder, but it wasn’t unbearable. So long as Bruce didn’t plan on licking him anytime soon, he was sure he’d be fine.

Bruce had to squash down the scientific curiosity inside him that wanted to study Loki’s alien physiology, and focused on making sure Loki didn’t have any life threatening injuries like head trauma or internal bleeding. Luckily for him, Tony considered a lab a relaxing necessity, so he did not have to travel far for the proper equipment. Of course, if he knew more about Loki’s physiology it would be easier to tell if anything was wrong with him, but at the moment, besides a few cracked ribs that were already healing, it looked like Loki had collapsed from exhaustion. It was difficult to treat a patient when he was not sure what would harm and what would heal. In the end, he decided to monitor the situation; if Loki’s condition grew worse he would set up an IV to replace nutrients. If it was still bad after that, he was calling Thor, despite how much he knew Loki would hate having his brother see him like this.

And that, in a nutshell, was the whole reason he was doing this. The sane thing to do would have been to turn Loki over at first chance, but that option had not even entered his mind until now. He knew what it was to be a monster. He knew what it was to fear your very self. He had seen the same thing in Loki’s eyes. As much as he hated Loki, and as much as he wanted him to pay for his crimes, for right now, Bruce was going to make sure his fellow monster wasn’t about to suddenly kick the bucket.

/

“Finally awake?”

Loki continued to glare, just as he had for the last few minutes despite Bruce staring directly into that shockingly deep shade of red.

“You weren’t injured too badly,” Bruce continued.  Loki’s silence didn’t really bother him all that much. “I only found a few broken bones, which already seem to be mostly healed.”

That got Loki’s attention. He sat bolt upright, somehow managing to made his earlier glare into something even angrier. “You examined me!” Loki hissed. “How dare you touch me without my permission!” Loki moved forward as if he were going to attack Bruce, but stopped himself a split second later as the realization crossed his face of just who he would be attacking. Smart move.

“Only to check for injuries. I wouldn’t touch you anymore than I have to.”

“Of course,” Loki replied, his tone so bitter and biting Bruce was surprised it wasn’t followed by a winter storm. “I disgust you like this, don’t I?”

“Me not wanting to touching you has everything to do with you being both my patient and my enemy, and absolutely nothing to do with this new form of yours.” Bruce turned on his heel and headed for the kitchen, planning on making himself a cup of tea. Loki had been awake for five minutes and already he was trying Bruce’s nerves.

He was pouring the boiling water into his mug before Loki spoke again. “So, you do not know the true extent of how base this form is?”

“If you mean did I see whatever you didn’t want me to see, then probably not.”

“Good.” Loki practically slammed himself back down onto the mattress, turning his back to Bruce and pulling the covers over his head as he pretended to go back to sleep.

/

The next week was probably the strangest of Bruce’s life, and that was saying something for someone who turned into a giant anger monster and spent much of his time smashing villains into the concrete.

It started when Loki finally left the bed. He just sat behind Bruce, a blanket wrapped tightly around him to hide as much of his blue skin as possible, and watched as Bruce ran simple experiments. Bruce probably should have minded more, but the way Loki’s sharp eyes took in everything made Bruce think he was actually interested. As much as Tony loved science, he was all about machines and engineering. The biology aspect of science failed to interest him, which was the attitude most of the Avengers had as well.

So, when Loki joined him again the next day, and actually asked a question, Bruce found himself answering. It was a weird conversation, full of pauses and calculations. Loki didn’t seem to want to push Bruce too far and be told to go away, and Bruce didn’t want to give Loki any tools he could use against himself and the Avengers.

That night, Bruce was startled awake, falling out of his lounge chair, to the sound of wood splintering and violent curses in a long dead language coloring the air. When he entered the bedroom, he saw Loki, still blue, curled up in the middle of the mess that had previously been the bed frame. Dark blue blood dripped down his cheeks and arms from the cuts he had received, but Loki seemed completely unaware of them.

Bruce left for a brief second to grab the first aid kit, before approaching with the determination of a doctor dealing with a particularly stubborn patient, which he technically was at the moment. Loki cursed and spat at him when Bruce caught his chin and refused to let go. “Stop it,” he ordered. “You’ve hurt yourself. If you make me, I’ll get the Other Guy out to restrain you.”

“What do you care?” Loki hissed, batting at Bruce’s hands with the last vestiges of resistance before he went still. “I would kill you given the chance. Why care for a monster?”

“Because I know what it is to be a monster,” Bruce answered, wrapping gauze around a rather bad cut on Loki’s arm. “When we leave, everything may end up going back to how it was before, but while you’re here, you’re under my care.”

Loki’s eyes softened, but they were far from understanding. He let Bruce clean him up without another word.

When Bruce began to clean up, Loki joined him after a few minutes. They worked in silence; and when they were done, Bruce allowed Loki to take his lounge chair. He found himself smiling when morning came, and Loki uncurled himself, nose twitching as it detected the scents of eggs and pancakes.

Breakfast with the fallen Prince of Asgard could also be classified as peaceful.

/

It was day ten when Bruce saw Loki smile. Not a happy smile, but one that was sharp and vicious, full of triumph.

Loki held his hand up to Bruce, showing where blue was giving way to pink.

For the first time, Bruce actually began to worry about what would happen when Loki finally regained his old form.

/

“You have done me a service,” Loki said on day thirteen.

The blue had continued to recede slowly, definitely not fast enough for Loki’s liking, leaving Loki with a strange mixture of light blue blotches across his skin. It had sneaked its way across a small portion of Loki’s face, leaving him with a pale line from his now one green eye to the tip of his ear. It was all rather entrancing, seeing Loki caught between two different bodies at once. Bruce often found himself staring, not that Loki seemed to much mind it any longer. That old cloak of false self confidence was falling neatly onto his shoulders once more.

“Despite what you may think of me, I would repay you for what you have done for me,” Loki announced haughtily, actually lifting his nose into the air.

Bruce simply stared at Loki for a moment. “Let’s just say you owe me one, and leave it at that.” He wasn’t stupid enough to throw away a favor from Loki of all people.

Loki rolled his eyes before standing, sauntering over to Bruce with swinging hips. Bruce was legitimately surprised. It had been a long time since anyone (Tony excluded) had come onto him, and he never expected it from Loki. He did nothing to stop Loki as he gracefully placed himself on Bruce’s lap, draping his arms over Bruce’s shoulders. “Try to be more exciting than that,” Loki demanded.

Loki leaned closer, that terrible smirk on his face, all teeth and grit. “I know what you want most in this world. As horrible as this form is, I can give it to you.” Loki rolled his hips against Bruce’s for emphasis, and whispered in Bruce’s ears, “Would you take your pleasure in my body, and leave me heavy with your offspring?” Those two sentences had so many implications, Bruce’s mind reeled at them all. It simultaneously made him want to examine Loki fully, and push Loki off his lap.

Instead, Bruce gripped Loki’s thighs with large hands, catching the moment of triumph in Loki’s eyes before Bruce killed it. “You’re wrong,” Bruce said softly. Loki looked like Bruce had just insulted his mother.  “What I want most,” Bruce explained calmly, “is not a child. It’s a family.”

Loki pulled back, eyes blinking a few times as he processed Bruce’s words. He pushed himself off Bruce, movements smooth and face calm. “I see,” was all Loki said.

He went off to the kitchen and began making dinner as if nothing had happened.

It turned out, Loki was a surprisingly good cook.

/

It wasn’t particularly surprising when Loki slinked away in the middle of the night, so Bruce was not sure why his chest constricted at the discovery.

/

Bruce took a deep breath. The first few moments after the Big Guy were always a bit mentally chaotic. He needed those precious seconds to actually figure out who he was, to figure out that he was human, in the loosest sense of the word, once more.

It also came with a headache so horrible it engulfed his head.

The cool hands against his flesh were working wonders to combat it though.

Bruce slowly opened his eyes, taking in the blue form he had missed over the previous weeks of Loki’s absence. “Hey,” Bruce greeted, meeting Loki’s crimson eyes.

“Salutations,” Loki returned, smirking when Bruce snorted.

“I didn’t think to see you again until you were trying to set me on fire again.” Bruce turned his head, exposing more of his skin to Loki’s cold hands.

“I told you, I am indebted to you, and you wished for a family. Granted, I would prefer to see most of my own family dead, but I doubt that is what you envisioned.”

“Loki!” Bruce sighed, reaching up to grab one of Loki’s wrists. Loki flinched for a brief second, but did not pull away. Still, Bruce let his hand drop back to his side.

“No protest,” Loki ordered. “If I did not wish to give you a child, I would most certainly not have offered. If I did want wish to try this ‘family’ thing with you, then I would not be here now.”

“So, what, you’ve claimed me then?”

Loki bent over, brushing his lips over Bruce’s. Bruce didn’t pull away. Despite everything that should have made Bruce shove Loki away and scream bloody murder, it felt so nice to kiss someone again. And that Loki wouldn’t break easily, that he was here because he wanted it, only made the kiss all the sweeter. It was short and soft, but when Loki pulled back, Bruce realized he was smiling. “Something like that,” Loki answered.

Bruce, still smiling, closed his eyes again and relaxed against Loki. His whole body tingled as Loki lay down on the ground beside him and pressed against Bruce’s side. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“I suppose, if it is within your ability.”

“You didn’t seem too fond of that form before,” Bruce started slowly. The last thing he wanted was to scare Loki away, but he needed to know. “Why return to it now?”

Loki traced his fingers across Bruce’s bare chest, neither bothered by Bruce’s nakedness, for a few minutes before they heard the sounds of the other Avengers coming to look for their friend. Loki pushed himself up, and kissed Bruce’s chin. “We monsters must stay together.”

Bruce didn’t worry when Loki was suddenly gone again. He knew Loki would return again soon enough.


End file.
